A Missed Traffic Light
by coolhacker1025
Summary: This story is a continuation of the story One Traffic Light by witowsmp. What if Harry got to the Platform early in book 1? Rated for future chapters. Slightly AU/ Some characters might be OOC. Harry/Hermione/Ginny
1. Confrontations

One Traffic Light, continued

This story is a continuation of the story One Traffic Light by witowsmp. This story is not used with permission of either that author or J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, and a number of other companies, none of which I represent. The original story is at s/7058158/1/One-Traffic-Light

_On being heard by Auror Dawlish, Molly Weasley is arrested at King's Cross Station for screaming out the Platform Number, and then being, in his opinion, rude. In the chaos, Ginny Weasley manages to board the _Hogwarts Express, _where she is discovered by her brothers Fred and George. The Twins manage to set a couple of Notice-Me-Not charms on their sister, and then provide a distraction so that she can be sorted into Gryffindor._

_According to the Twins, The Rules state that, once a child is Sorted, they become a student, and once a student has been removed from Hogwarts for any reason, they may not return_

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY!" shouted the matriarch of the Weasley clan, Molly in a good imitation of what her Howler voice was.

"Perhaps, after the feast we should go to my office," suggested Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster.

"Weasley should be expelled, Headmaster, and her two troublemaking siblings as well," sneered another man walking over to the group. This was the Head of Slytherin House, Severus Snape. "This is a clear violation of the Hogwarts charter. If they were in Slytherin, you'd be forced to take your brood with you, Mrs Weasley."

"Messrs Weasley, Fred and George, that is, and Miss Weasley, please come to my office after the Feast, and we will get this all sorted out." Dumbledore said. "I'll notify Minerva."

"What was that about?" asked Harry, who was sitting next to Ginny and a bushy-haired girl who seemed to have memorised the textbooks named Hermione.

"Well," Ginny started. "I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm only ten, you see. A year younger than my brother, Ronald."

From farther down the table, a ginger-haired boy said, "Oi! Don't call me that. Only Great Aunt Muriel calls me that. And Mum, when she's angry."

After dinner and after the Headmaster gave his speech, the Weasleys marched up to the Headmaster's Office. When they got to the Gargoyle, Dumbledore said, "Jelly Baby" which was evidently the password, as the gargoyle moved aside to reveal a circular staircase.

"What can we do with you, Miss Weasley?" asked the Headmaster. "I'm sure that you don't have any books or a wand. Therefore, you cannot..."

The twins interrupted him. "According to the rules, Rule 56A and 63C are relevant here." They said. "56A states that Ginny is a student, since she has been sorted, and 63C states that if you decide that she _cannot_ be a student, then she can never return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and with an Expulsion, as you'd have to do, no other school in the world would take her (except for the ones that hate England)." This last part wasn't said quite as loudly as the rest.

"I told Harry at dinner about my status," Ginny spoke up. "And he's quite willing to help pay for my school supplies."

"Harry?" asked her mother. "Harry Who?"

"Harry Potter, of course," said Ginny with an exasperated tone.

"Well that's settled, then" said Dumbledore. "I'll have Minerva take Mr Potter and Miss Weasley down to Diagon Alley tomorrow, so that Miss Weasley can pick up her school supplies. I think that will be ten points from Gryffindor for sneaking onto the train, fifteen each from your brothers for their distraction, ten each _to _your brothers for helping their sister achieve her dream to be a Gryffindor, ten to Mr Potter for the same reason, and ten to you for your courage of talking the Hat into Sorting you."

If anyone had been watching the Great Hall, rubies flew away from, and then back into the Hourglass for Gryffindor.

"I want to see them all Expelled and arrested!" shouted Snape. "They nearly killed my students!"

"It was only a pink colour charm," said Dumbledore. "There will be no further punishment, as it will wear off in at most, a week's time."

"Is it true what the twins said, Headmaster?" asked Molly.

"I'm afraid it is, Molly." he replied. "Your daughter will be assigned to a dormitory with the other Gryffindor first years, and she will be a student here. Incidentally, if she manages to get onto the Quidditch team next year, she will be the youngest player in a century."

The group turned to leave. "Messrs Weasley, I do believe that the password to the Common Room is _Caput Draconis."_


	2. Shopping

One Traffic Light, continued

Chapter Two, Shopping

This story is a continuation of the story One Traffic Light by witowsmp. This story is not used with permission of either that author or J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, and a number of other companies, none of which I represent. The original story is at s/7058158/1/One-Traffic-Light

_The group turned to leave. "Messrs Weasley, I do believe that the password to the Common Room is _Caput Draconis_."_

When Ginny got to the Common Room, she headed over to where Hermione was sitting. She thought that Hermione seemed like a really nice girl; they talked over dinner. Harry was sitting a couple of chairs over, and her brother was already trying to beat someone at chess.

"So, what happened?" asked Hermione. Without waiting for an answer, Hermione continued, "According to the Hogwarts Rulebook..."

Ginny interrupted her before she could quote the same two sections again. "My brothers told everyone," she said. "Rule 56C and 64A or something."

"How in the world did your brothers know?" asked Hermione. "From what your brother was saying, the Twins are just a bunch of troublemakers."

"They wanted to know the rules and break every single one of them," Ginny replied. "And which brother did you ask? Percy the Prefect? He wouldn't know ‛fun' if it kicked him in the ass!"

"Ginny, language!" Hermione admonished. "But what's your situation?"

"Harry and I are going with Professor McGonagall to Diagon Alley tomorrow to pick up new books, robes, etc."

"Harry seems like a nice kid," said Hermione.

Ginny said, "You think so, too?" Hermione nodded, and then asked, "Why is Harry going with you?"

"My family doesn't have a lot of money," replied Ginny. "So Harry is financing it. It seems to me that he didn't have much of a family life before coming to Hogwarts, which would completely contradict the storybooks."

"You mean, Harry is in your children's books?" asked Hermione. "I knew that he was famous, but I didn't know that he was that famous."

"He was the first one to survive the Killing Curse, so naturally, he is famous." said Ginny. She lowered her voice, so that Harry, who was listening from a couple of chairs over, couldn't hear. "I think that he wants to be treated as ‛Just Harry' not the bloody Boy-Who-Lived."

Hermione once again admonished Ginny for her language and then agreed. A little while later, they said good night to Harry and went to the Dormitory.

The next morning, Ginny woke up at 7:30 and got dressed in clothes that she borrowed from Hermione, who had to adjust them slightly. She and Hermione met Harry and Ron in the Common Room, and went down to breakfast. While they were eating (eggs and toast), McGonagall came over to the group and said, "Miss Weasley. Mr Potter. I have been assigned to take you to Diagon Alley. You will meet me at the Front Doors at exactly 9 o'clock. Potter, make sure to bring your Gringotts key."

Ginny and Harry replied with a "Yes, ma'am," and continued their breakfast. At nine o'clock, they went to the front doors. "Hurry up," McGonagall said. "It's going to be a bit of a walk."

"We're not walking to the Alley, are we?" asked Harry stupidly.

"Of course not, Potter," replied McGonagall. "We are going to take the Floo Network from the bar belonging to that idiot brother of the Headmaster."

"Floo network?" asked Harry. "What's that?"

"Did you not get the Packet explaining the Wizarding World, Potter?" asked McGonagall. "Who told you that you were a wizard? To answer your question, the Floo Network uses a system of Fireplaces. What you do is you throw Floo Powder into the fireplace and shout your destination, in this case, ‛Diagon Alley' Most of the time, you'll get to your destination if you speak clearly enough. Oh, we're here."

McGonagall walked up to a grubby looking pub. A man with blue eyes and a beard similar to the Headmaster's greeted her at the door.

"Albus told me you were coming, Professor," he said. "Who are these ruffians?"

"It's nice to see you again, Aberforth. Your pub looks just as clean as it did the last time I came here. And this is Ginny Weasley, a girl who managed to get on the train and Sorted without anyone realising this, and the boy is Harry Potter."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr Potter," said the barman jovially as a goat walked out of the bar. "What is wrong with Miss Weasley?"

"I'm a year too young," replied Ginny. "But I got sorted, so I am now a student."

"Rule 56A and 64C?" asked the slightly younger Dumbledore, Aberforth.

Ginny was getting tired of hearing that same citation over and over again, so she just confirmed it with him. Aberforth led them over to the Floo, and Ginny took a handful of powder, tossed it in the Fire, and yelled, "Diagon Alley!" _It's strange coming from this direction,_ thought Ginny as she went through the system. _There are so many new fireplaces!_ Soon, she touched down at the Leakey Cauldron. Half a minute later, Harry and McGonagall came through as well.

"I'm not exactly sure that I like that," said Harry.

"My word," said the barman, Tom. McGonagall flew over to the bar, and shoved her wand in Tom's face.

"Do not go shouting about who just came through the Floo, Tom," said McGonagall. Her Scots accent was very prevalent. "Mr Potter would like his privacy; he's not some type of animal at a zoo!"

With a terrified look in his eyes, the Squib bartender just nodded his head saying, "Yes, ma'am!"

McGonagall led the two students out of the bar and went into the Alley. She led them towards Gringotts, where Harry politely asked to be taken to his vault. When Ginny saw the size of his vault, which was a lot deeper than the Weasley vault, she was amazed. There were mountains of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. There were other objects, all of which looked quite valuable. _Whoever catches his eye is going to be one lucky girl_, thought Ginny. _I rather hope it's me or Hermione._

After they did their shopping, they went to the Ice-Cream store, which Ginny thought was the best in the world. Harry seemed so happy just to be able to spend money on his new friend that he almost forgot to order some ice-cream for himself. After the ice-cream, there were just two stops left. Over dinner, Ginny mentioned that the family owl, Errol, was quite old and not exactly reliable, so as Ginny went into Ollivanders to get her wand, Harry went next door to the Owl Emporium to buy her a late birthday present. McGonagall told him in secret that Ginny's birthday was the 11th of August.

Soon, Ginny had her first wand (Holly, 8.5 inches with the core being the tail from a Unicorn), and they were taking the Floo back to Hogwarts.


	3. The Potions Master

A Missed Traffic Light

This story is a continuation of the story "One Traffic Light" by witowsmp. The story is not used with the permission of witowsmp, J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Publishing or Scholastic. Harry Potter and all associated trademarks (whether registered or unregistered) belong to those entities (except witowsmp, who is simply responsible for the AU that this story takes place in, and whose original story is at s/7058158/1/One-Traffic-Light

Chapter3-The Potions Master

_Soon, Ginny had her first wand and they were taking the Floo back to Hogwarts_

The next day, Ginny and Harry went to their first class, along with their new friend Hermione Granger. Ron was still acting like someone who wanted Harry's fame for himself, so the Trio ignored him.

Ginny thought that the classes were amazing. Well, except for Defence Against the Dark Arts, which was taught by Professor Quirrell, who stuttered, and History of Magic, which was taught by a ghost. Rumour had it that Professor Binns, who had been very old when he died, had simply left his body behind and continued teaching the next day.

Professor Flitwick, the Ravenclaw head and Charms Professor, was a tiny man. Ginny thought that one of his ancestors was a Goblin. He was so tiny that he had to stand on a pile of books to teach. He nearly fell off his stack of books when he saw Harry Potter's name on the Class Roster, and looked impressed when he saw Ginny's name.

Professor McGonagall, the Gryffindor head and the Transfiguration teacher, now that Ginny saw her in the classroom, seemed to be very strict. After class, Harry said, and Ginny agreed, that McGonagall didn't seem like a teacher that they would want to cross. She gave them a warning about the dangers of Transfiguration right at the top of the lesson.

Professor Quirrell, the Defence teacher, was the one class that everyone was looking forward to, but they turned out to be a joke, as the classroom smelled strongly of garlic. The garlic, rumour had it, was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania.

Friday was a very important day. At breakfast, Harry received a letter from the person he confessed to Ginny was his first friend.

Harry and Friends,

I know that you have afternoons on Friday free. Would you like to have a cup of tea with me around three? I'd like to hear all about your first week. Send an answer back with Hedwig, I think she wants something to do. Bring Weasley and your other friend too, if you want.

Hagrid

Almost immediately, the Ginny and Hermione, who had both been reading the letter over Harry's shoulder, made eye contact first with each other, and then with Harry. It was in this moment of eye contact that all three decided to go, so Harry sent back Hedwig with the reply, _Yes, we'd be glad to come._

A couple of seats down at the Gryffindor table, Ron was complaining about the schedule for the day. "We've double Potions with the Slytherins! Snape's head of Slytherin House. Everyone says that he favours them."

Muttering to Ginny and Hermione, Harry said, "I wish McGonagall favoured us."

_\\/_

Potions class turned out to be one of the Trio's worst classes yet. It was clear from the Bell that Snape didn't dislike Harry and Ginny. He _hated_ them. He started off by calling names from the Roster. When he got to Harry's name, he said, "Harry Potter. Our new celebrity." When he got to Ginny's name, he said, "Ginevra Weasley, the Girl-Who-Shouldn't-Be-Here. The sneak!"

Both proclamations caused a blond boy from Slytherin and his two sidekicks to laugh. Ginny later learned that blond-boy was in fact Draco Malfoy, spawn of the sworn Enemy of the Weasley family, and that the two sidekicks were Crabbe and Goyle, but she could never remember who was who.

Ginny looked into Snape's eyes as he put away the Class List. They were black like coals, but had no warmth in them whatsoever. Snape decided to start the class off with a lecture. It was a lecture that Ginny would not soon forget.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He had a voice that carried quite well, even if it was just barely above a whisper. "There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class, so many of you will hardly believe that this is magic. I don't except that you will understand the beauty of a simmering cauldron and its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins, bewitching the mind and ensnaring the senses."

He paused for the briefest of moments before continuing on. "I can teach you how to bottle fame" (he looked at Harry) "brew glory and even put a stopper in death. That is, as long as you aren't the usual level of dunderheads that I usually am forced to teach."

He turned suddenly to Harry. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry looked as though he didn't know the answer.

"No clue? Let's see if the Sneak knows any better." Snape turned to Ginny. "What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" (1)

Ginny knew that the answer was right on the top of her tongue, but right as she was about to open her mouth, Snape replied, "Tut, tut. Clearly, you shouldn't be here after all!"

Turning back to Harry, Snape questioned, "Potter! What is the most powerful love potion in existence?"

Ginny knew this one. One look over at Hermione, and Ginny knew that she knew it as well. It was _Amortentia._ Unfortunately, it wasn't hers or Hermione's opportunity to respond.

"Clearly fame isn't everything, is it Mr Potter?" asked Snape. "15 points from Gryffindor for not opening a single one of your books. To answer my questions, adding a powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood creates the base for one of the most powerful Sleeping Potions known to man, known as the _Draught of Living Death. _Wolfsbane and monkshood are the same plant, which also goes by aconite. The most powerful love potion is Amortentia_. Why are you not copying this down?"_

He then set them their potion for the day. Ginny got paired up with Hermione, who was quite good. About halfway through brewing the potion, Snape was praising the perfect way that Malfoy was brewing his potion (which incidentally was the wrong colour), whilst criticising everyone else, even though Ginny's and Hermione's potion were as good or better than Malfoy.

Just then, Ginny heard something from Neville's cauldron as it melted, causing his potion to leak onto the floor. Everyone got up on their stools so as not to get burnt. Neville, who had taken the brunt of the meltdown, was moaning in pain. Snape ordered Seamus Finnegan, an Irish Gryffindor, to take Neville to the Hospital. He then took five more points from Gryffindor from Harry, for "failing to stop Longbottom."

\\/

A couple of minutes before three, Hermione, Ginny and Harry started down to Hagrid's hut. Ginny certainly wouldn't call it much of a house. When Harry knocked on the door, Ginny heard a loud booming bark from inside.

"_Get Back, _Fang!" shouted a voice from inside. Ginny could hear the scratching of nails on the wooden floor of the house, as if "Fang" were resisting all attempts to move him. A minute later, Hagrid opened up the door. "Come in! Come in!" he said in a booming voice with a West Country accent. She didn't know that's what it was called, but she liked it. _It gives Hagrid character,_ she thought.

"Which Weasley are you?" asked Hagrid. "Spent the last couple of years chasing your brothers away from the forest."

"I'm Ginny Weasley" she responded. She pointed at Hermione. "And this is one of my best friends, Hermione Granger."

Hagrid turned to Hermione, stuck his hand out, and nearly took it out of its circuit shaking it. "Nice to meet you," he said to Hermione before turning back to Ginny. "Ain't you a bit young?"

Most of this chapter is inspired by/taken from _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, _British Edition pp 99-106

A/N: I'm not going to repeat everything from _Philosopher's Stone._ From now on, I'll give the Highlights of what has changed.


	4. Brooms

A Missed Traffic Light

This story is a continuation of the story "One Traffic Light" by witowsmp. The story is not used with the permission of witowsmp, J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Publishing or Scholastic. Harry Potter and all associated trademarks (whether registered or unregistered) belong to those entities (except witowsmp, who is simply responsible for the AU that this story takes place in, and whose original story is at s/7058158/1/One-Traffic-Light

Chapter4—Duels and Flying

After a couple of days of classes, one morning a notice was pinned inside the Gryffindor Common Room. There would be flying lessons starting Thursday—with the Slytherins. Ginny, of course, already knew how to fly—Charlie had taught her when she was five, and she had been sneaking broom-rides ever since. The other brothers thought that Quidditch was too rough a sport for a girl, so they never let her play. But Charlie and her had practised Seeking—finding and catching the Golden Snitch. Her family's brooms weren't good at all—the best one they had was a Comet 260, which was at least ten years out of date.

Speaking of Ron, he was still being rude to her, Hermione, and (for some reason) Harry. Ginny figured that Ron was jealous of them. Malfoy, too, was being rude to them at every turn. He was boasting all of the time about Quidditch and narrowly escaping Muggle helicopters on his broom.

Soon, Thursday came and the Gryffindors marched onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. Unfortunately, the Slytherins were already there. There were a number of brooms on the ground. Each was very old—they looked like Comet 50s. The bristles on most of the brooms weren't straight, Ginny noticed.

Madame Hooch came strolling over. "Hello, class!" she said. "Now everybody walk up to the side of a broom and say 'UP!'"

\\/

The next time Ginny saw Harry was on the way to dinner. He and Hermione were talking.

"According to _Hogwarts, A History_, it's almost unheard of," Hermione was saying.

"What's up?" Ginny asked Harry. "You didn't get expelled, did you?"

Harry lowered his voice to tell her. "No, McGonagall got a kid named Oliver Wood to put me on the Quidditch team."

"He's our Captain," said Ginny. "But you must be the youngest player in..."

"A century," Harry interrupted. "Wood said so. Just think though. If you make the team next year, then you can shatter my record by a couple of days. Have you heard anything about Neville? How's he doing?"

"I've heard that it's just a broken wrist," said Ginny.

"Madame Pomfrey should be able to fix it in no time at all with magic," continued Hermione. Coincidentally, that was what Ginny had been about to say.

"She'll probably force him to rest a while before coming back to the Common Room, though" finished Ginny. The girls looked at each other in realisation. Something was somehow causing them to be able to read each other's thoughts. Just then, Ginny heard a voice that she really did not want to hear.

"Are you eating your last meal before you get sent to the Muggles?" asked Malfoy.

"You're a lot braver on the ground, now that you have your sidekicks with you," said Harry.

"I'll take you on any time, Potter. Wizard's Duel—Midnight in the Trophy Room. Crabbe's my second, who's yours?" replied Malfoy, giving a challenge.

"Ginny" said Harry. Malfoy grinned, nodded and walked off.

\\/

A little while later, the Trio were in the Common Room.

"Malfoy's a Slytherin," said Ginny. "He probably doesn't plan to show. What should we do?"

"We act like Slytherins," responded Harry. "The damned hat wanted to put me their anyway."

\\/

"Mr Malfoy will be out of bed tonight?" asked Professor McGonagall. The trio decided to go to her office and tell her Malfoy's plan.

"We think that it's a trap," said Harry.

"Malfoy challenges us to a duel," continued Ginny.

"We show up at midnight," continued Hermione.

"Filch shows up at midnight to give us detention" finished Harry. "Ginny tells me that there are no repercussions on me or my Family Honour, since we are both too young to give that kind of challenge."

"Very well, Mr Potter, Miss Granger, Miss Weasley," said Professor McGonagall. "I thank you for telling me this. Five points will be given to Gryffindor for telling your Head of House about a potentially serious situation."

Right before they were about to go through the door, McGonagall called, "Please go to the Pitch at seven o'clock tomorrow night. Oliver wants to see you try out in person."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry said. "Can Ginny come with me? She's told me that she loves Quidditch."

"Very well." Professor McGonagall replied. She pulled a magazine out of her desk. "Take a look though here, Potter, and buy yourself a nice broom."

\\/

Malfoy and his friends were astonished to not only see the Trio at breakfast, but completely wide awake. _Where did my plan go wrong? It was such a Slytherin plan! _He thought.

In the middle of breakfast, a squadron of owls carrying two packages descended on the Gryffindor table. Each was identical. One of the owls flew to Ginny. She saw a note on the outside of the package.

_Ginny, _(the note said)

_I'm paying by the word, so I'll be brief. This is a new broom for the Weasley family. It is not charity, it is a gift. It's a new Nimbus 2000. Give this note to Gred and Forge and have them read it. They can take custody of the broom until next year._

_Harry_

Ginny did as she was told, and the owls grudgingly took the package over to the Twins.

"Merlin's beard, Harry" said one twin.

"This must of cost a hundred Galleons" said the other.

"Well, he can't let Slytherin win," said Hermione, moments before Harry was about to say something similar.

As they were walking out of the Great Hall, Malfoy came up to them. "Potter, First years aren't allowed to have brooms. You'll be expelled this time!"

Just then a squeaky voice came from behind the two groups. "Not arguing, I hope, boys?" asked Professor Flitwick.

"Potter's got a broomstick, Professor," Malfoy said. Crabbe and Goyle grunted their agreement.

"Yes," said Flitwick. "The Headmaster and Deputy just told me about the special circumstances. What model is it, Potter?"

"A Nimbus 2000, sir." replied Harry.

"And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that he got it," continued Hermione.

Later on in the Common Room, the Trio were talking. "Something really weird is going on here" said Ginny.

"I know," said Hermione. "I'm not nearly as mad as I should be about what you did yesterday, _and _we are all finishing each other's sentences."

Harry and Hermione both looked at Ginny, wondering if she knew anything.


	5. Halloween

A Missed Traffic Light or The Bonds of Friendship

This story is a continuation of the story "One Traffic Light" by witowsmp. The story is not used with the permission of witowsmp, J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Publishing or Scholastic. Harry Potter and all associated trademarks (whether registered or unregistered) belong to those entities (except witowsmp, who is simply responsible for the AU that this story takes place in, and whose original story is at s/7058158/1/One-Traffic-Light

Chapter5—Flying and Trolls

"_I'm not nearly as mad as I should be about what you did yesterday," __said Hermione. "A__nd we are all finishing each other's sentences."_

_Harry and Hermione both looked at Ginny, wondering if she knew anything._

"I don't know _everything_about the magical world, guys," she said. "But I'd hypothesise that there is some type of bond forming between us."

"A bond?" asked Hermione. "I'll have to go..."

All three of them finished, "Look in the library."

\\/

At Seven on the day after the first Flying Lesson, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny went down to the Quidditch Pitch to do some training. Actually, Ginny thought, she and Harry would be practising, and Hermione would be watching.

Each of them took off. The Nimbus had the best handling out of any broom Ginny had ever flown. Harry and Ginny weaved through the goal posts until they heard a voice say, "Oi! Potter and friend. Get down here!"

"Hello, Mr Wood," said Harry. "How are you?"

"Now that I've seen the both of you fly even a little bit? I'm pretty good. And call me Oliver," Oliver Wood said to Harry. "Who's your friend?"

"I'm Ginny Weasley," replied Ginny.

"You're the kid!" said Oliver. "I'd like to see what you two can do. Unfortunately, only the Seekers job is open, so one of you will be a reserve. No offence, Miss Weasley, even if you're as good as your brothers, I think that the Starting job will go to Mr Potter. But stranger things have happened."

Oliver opened up a box containing the Quidditch balls—one Quaffle, two Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch. "I assume that Miss Weasley has taught you the basics of Quidditch?" asked Wood.

Pointing at the Quaffle, Harry said, "That's the Quaffle, the Chasers try and score through those hoops, and the Keeper defends the hoops."

Harry went over the players in a game of Quidditch. Wood was impressed. Ginny then noticed something else on the ground. It was a bag of Muggle tennis balls, she realised. Her Dad had brought some home a couple of years ago.

The two First-years got on their brooms and started catching the tennis balls that Wood was throwing. Soon, though, their fun ran out, as it was getting too late.

"Weasley, I like you," Wood started. "You're a damned good Seeker, but you're too young. I think that Potter will have the best chance at winning us games. However, if Potter gets injured or something, I'd bring you in."

\\/

The Trio were walking up to Gryffindor Tower when one of the staircases changed its position. When they got off, they saw a corridor with a long door at the end.

"You hear something, my sweet" said a diabolical voice, the voice of the caretaker, Argus Filch, who was talking to his equally evil cat Mrs Norris.

"In through that door," whispered Harry frantically. He tried to open it. It didn't budge. "Oh, yeah. _Alohomora!"_ They walked through the door, and they saw a sickening sight. There was a giant three-headed dog staring down at them.

\\/

Speeding up the hallway came Peeves.

"Peeves?" asked Filch. "You rotten poltergeist! Did you see some students? Which way did they go?"

"Say please!" sung the Poltergeist.

"Don't mess around with me Peeves! Which way did they go?"

"I shan't say nothing if you don't say please"

"All right" said Filch. "Please." he looked as though it really hurt him to say that. He looked even fouler when he heard Peeves' response.

"NOTHING!" said Peeves as Filch stormed off. "Said I wouldn't say 'Nothing' if you didn't say please!"

The Trio came flying out of their hiding place. "What's a three-headed dog doing here?" asked Hermione.

When they got to the Common Room, Ginny said, "Did you notice what it was standing on?"

Realisation coming to him, Harry hit his head and responded with, "It was on a trapdoor. It must be guarding something."

"Now I'm going to bed," said Hermione. "Before anyone else gets any ideas."

"Ideas about what?" asked Harry.

"To get us killed," said Ginny.

"Or Worse, Expelled" finished Hermione, the pre-bond Hermione showing up again. The girls told Harry "Good Night," and they went to their dormitory as Harry went to his. Ginny's dreams that night revolved around what might be under that trapdoor.

\\/

Within a couple of weeks, it was Halloween. They had classes as usual during the day, and then a minor Feast at dinnertime. In charms, they were working on the Levitation Charm (_Wingardium Leviosa_). Flitwick first went over some theory, and then made sure that his students remembered the correct pronunciation. Ron was having a hard time levitating his feather. Hermione was trying to help him, but it was just irritating him more.

As they were walking out of class, Ron just had to put his foot in it again. "Honestly, she's a nightmare! It's no wonder no one can stand her."

Hermione ran off crying.

\\/

At dinner, Ginny heard a rumour that Hermione, who hadn't come to any of her classes after charms, was in the Girl's Bathroom on the Second Floor, crying. Just as Harry was helping himself to a jacket potato, Quirrell came running in to the Great Hall.

"TROLL! In the Dungeons!" he screamed. "Thought you might want to know." He then collapsed to the ground.

Dumbledore put a Sound-Amplifying charm on himself and bellowed, "SILENCE!"

"The prefects will lead the students to their dormitories," the Headmaster continued. "The teachers will go to the Dungeons."

Percy was in his element as he led the Gryffindors to the Common Room. Harry stopped Ron and Ginny for a minute part of the way up.

"Hermione! She doesn't know about the Troll!" Harry said. "Ginny, get Percy, and have him get McGonagall or someone. Ron, as the French say, _allons-y__!_ Let's go! This is your fault that she's in this situation anyway."

\\/

As Ginny went to get Percy and/or a teacher, Ron and Harry were talking.

"Weasley, you've got to stop this jealousy." Harry said. "If we get out of this alive, you're going to have to apologise to Hermione, your sister, and me before we even _consider _becoming friends."

"But, Harry?"

"Think about if someone was being rude to your sister, which incidentally you have been for the past couple weeks," Harry proposed. "What would you do?"

"I'd fight them," responded Ron.

"Let's just say that your sister, Hermione, and me are a hell of a lot closer than siblings," Harry said as they got to the second floor corridor just in time to see a fairly large troll enter the Ladies'.

"Oh, no! The troll went into the bathroom Hermione is in!" said Ron as he and Harry dashed off to save Hermione.

\\/

"Percy! Percy" yelled Ginny as she ran. She got to the Gryffindor Common Room and went in. She ran over to where Percy was sitting. "Percy!"

"What do you want?" asked Percy the Prefect. "That'll be twenty points from Gryffindor for not following orders exactly."

"Percy, Hermione is in the bathroom on the Second Floor. We need to get a teacher! Ron and Harry are trying to let her know about the troll." said Ginny really fast so Percy couldn't cut her off.

Percy touched the back of his Prefect's badge with his wand, and said, "Students in the Second Floor Corridor near the Ladies' bathroom. Three Students in the area. Request assistance." He then turned to Ginny, "I did my part. Thank you for telling an Authority figure."

"How did you do that?"

"The badge is a communicator pin," said her brother. "It's an experimental feature this year. The Headmaster apparently got the idea from a Muggle Television series called _Star Trek._"

Percy wasn't a complete git, thought Ginny.

\\/

A little while later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were escorted to the Common Room by Professor McGonagall. When she saw the looks on everyone's faces, she knew that something happened. The Trio plus Ron went over to a secluded corner, where Harry explained that they had to save Hermione from a troll, and that Ron had been able to knock it out with its own club.

Next morning, Ron gave sincere apologies to the Trio.

"I'm really sorry at the way I treated you," he said to them. To Ginny, he added, "I'm sorry that I was so jealous. I mean, you're only ten, and you're possibly more powerful than I am."

"Did Harry tell you to do this?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, but not in the way you think." he said. Ginny just stood there, waiting for him to elaborate. "Harry told me to think about if someone was being mean to you, and I got to thinking that I really haven't been a nice brother since school started."

"Your apology is accepted, Ronald" said Ginny, earning her a couch cushion thrown at her. At that point the Trio became the Quartet of Gryffindor.


	6. Christmas

A Missed Traffic Light or The Bonds of Friendship

This story is a continuation of the story "One Traffic Light" by witowsmp. The story is not used with the permission of witowsmp, J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Publishing or Scholastic. Harry Potter and all associated trademarks (whether registered or unregistered) belong to those entities (except witowsmp, who is simply responsible for the AU that this story takes place in, and whose original story is at s/7058158/1/One-Traffic-Light

Chapter 6—Quidditch

November came, and so did the cold. Harry and Ginny were at Quidditch practise most nights, because Harry's first game was coming up. Although Ron was useless at most things, the one thing he obsessed about was Quidditch. In fact, Ginny thought that the only non-schoolbooks or non-Comic books that Ron had were about two subjects: The Chudley Cannons and Quidditch in General. Although Ron despised the idea of his kid sister potentially playing in a game, he lent The Trio _Quidditch Throughout the Ages_, a very comprehensive history of the sport.

Conversely, Ron was reaping benefits of his friendship with the Trio. First, he was able to make sure that no one messed with his younger sister. Second, he had someone to talk Quidditch about and beat at chess in Harry (although Harry was improving by leaps and bounds due to Hermione's logical mind). Third, the "Insufferable Know-it-all" had forgiven Ron that she now helped with his homework. Mind, she never _did _any of the homework (how will you learn?), but she did give useful suggestions.

Ginny was excited about Saturday—it would be the first Gryffindor match of the year, Gryffindor v Slytherin. Ginny would be watching the game with the rest of the students from the bleachers. A couple of the Gryffindors had made a sign that said, "Potter for President" but Ginny couldn't exactly understand the sign until Hermione told her later.

The Twins' friend Lee Jordan was commentating, and he was very biased towards his own house, Gryffindor. McGonagall kept having to shout "JORDAN" at him or take the megaphone away from him for being rude.

The game was proceeding well, with the Gryffindors in the lead, until suddenly, after being run into by the Slytherin Seeker, Harry's broom started to buck. Hermione took Hagrid's binoculars and looked at who had a direct line of sight.

"It's Snape," she said, handing the binoculars over to Ginny.

Looking through the binoculars, Ginny could see two people who could be responsible. There were two people in the Teacher Section pointing at Harry and muttering. "It's either Quirrell or Snape," she corrected Hermione. "Although I think what you are thinking is mad, I think it's our best shot."

In the seat next to Hermione, Ron was sputtering, trying to figure out what his sister meant. Hermione, on the other hand, sneaked over to the Teacher's Section, and set bluebell flames at Quirrell, who was in the row above Snape, and at Snape himself.

Ginny noticed that Harry was able to get back on his broom, and told Neville that. Neville had his hands over his face so that he wouldn't see. He uncovered them just in time to see Harry dive towards the ground.

Ginny noticed Harry land and then make a gesture like he was going to be sick. Then, he coughed, and the Snitch popped into his hands. Ginny gave the whole section high-fives as they celebrated the Gryffindor win. As the Quartet walked down to Hagrid's after the game, they could still hear the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint trying to argue the result of the game (a Gryffindor win) on the fact that Harry didn't catch the Snitch, he nearly swallowed it (the 'catch' was deemed fair, and the appeal overruled). They could also hear Lee Jordan still happily shouting out the final score.

\\/

"It was Snape," explained Ron. "He was cursing Harry's broom."

"Rubbish" responded Hagrid. "Why would Professor Snape do something like that?"

"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid" responded Hermione. "Quirrell and Snape were both staring at the broom, maintaining eye contact. Neither was blinking at all."

"We think that someone let the troll in so they could figure out how to get the three-headed dog on the third floor" said Ginny. "Harry saw Snape the day after Halloween, and he'd been bitten—it looked like from a large dog."

"How do you know about Fluffy?" asked Hagrid.

\\/

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Draco Malfoy had stopped taunting Harry about his catch of the Snitch. This pleased Ginny. What displeased Ginny was that Draco had fallen back on his old standards: taunting Harry's family. This so greatly displeased Ginny that Hermione had to stop her from performing the Bat-Bogey Hex on Draco ("You'll land in Detention over Holidays" Hermione had said.). Ginny, of course, knew that she would never get detention over the holidays, but that it would have to be served afterwards.

During their visit to Hagrid's house after the Quidditch game, he'd mentioned that what Fluffy was guarding was between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel. _I know I've heard that name before_, thought Ginny. The Girls and Harry were trying to exploit whatever type of bond they had to get as much work done as possible, including trying to find who Nicholas Flamel was.

A couple of days before Christmas, Ginny (and the other Weasley children) received a note.

_Children,_

_We are going to Romania to visit Charlie. Unfortunately, it is too expensive to bring all of us. We will send your Christmas presents. I would advise you to spend time with Harry—from what I've heard, he doesn't seem to have the best home-life, but I will not say any more. Also, Harry seems like such a sweet boy._

_Happy Christmas,_

_Mum and Dad_

Ginny was slightly disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see Charlie. He'd left for Romania straightaway after leaving school the previous year, so she hadn't seen him since last Christmas. Hermione was leaving to go visit her parents in London. This would be one of the first tests of the long-distance affects of the bond. For most of term, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione had never been more than a couple of metres from each other. Although Ron knew that Harry and the Girls were close, being Ron, he had no clue about the Bond. Harry, of course, was staying at Hogwarts for the holiday.

By the time Christmas rolled around, Hagrid had placed gigantic Christmas trees in the Great Hall and the teachers were helping to decorate them. The grounds were snow-covered by Christmas Eve, so the Weasleys and Harry had a snowball fight on the grounds, that culminated in the Twins charming a snowball to constantly hit Quirrell's turban. Ginny laughed with the others, but there was something wrong with Quirrell and she knew it. So did Harry.

They still hadn't cleared him as a suspect in the broom hexing at the Quidditch game earlier that year. On the other hand, neither had they been able to clear Snape. Ron, who thought that Snape was an evil git, still thought that all evidence pointed to Snape being the one hexing the broomstick. Then again, he wasn't able to feel what Harry did about Quirrell.

On Christmas, Ginny woke up to a large pile of presents. She took them down to the Common Room so as to open them with the others. She received a jumper and assorted home-made candies from her parents, a book from Hermione (_Muggles, A History _by Joanne Kathleen), more candies from Harry and Ron, and she didn't want to know what the twins gave her. She also received a Butterbeer-cap necklace from her friend who lived just over the hill, Luna ("to repel Nargles", Ginny didn't want to ask what those were).

Unfortunately, the boys opened their presents in their room, but when Harry came down, she saw that his was also wearing a Weasley jumper. Over the term, Ginny seemed to get a feeling that Harry didn't expect any presents, so she informed her mother about that.

Harry came over to her and wished her a Happy Christmas and then whispered something in her ear. "I've got something to show you when Hermione gets back."

The next day, Harry came to the Common Room quite tired, saying that he had something to show her and Ron. _This is evidentially not what he wanted to wait for Hermione_, Ginny thought. _I wonder what he wants to show us._

He took them to the library and then along a meandering path around the castle until finally, he came to a slightly open door. Behind the door, there was an unused classroom with a large mirror inside. Harry told them to come in and Ginny got her first proper look at the mirror. Engraved on the top were the words "_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." _This didn't seem to be any language that Ginny knew, until she thought about it. _Maybe the words are meant to be looked at as if in a mirror,_ she thought.

Harry was telling Ron how he saw his parents and family in the mirror. Obviously, he meant his family excluding the Dursleys. Ron stood in front of the mirror.

"Do you see them?" asked Harry.

"I see myself as Quidditch Captain," responded Ron. "_Merlin's Beard!_ I'm Head Boy as well! Do you think this mirror tells the future?"

"How can it?" asked Harry angrily. This was the type of statement that had alienated Ron from the Trio in the first two months of school. "My family's all dead."

Ginny stepped in front of the mirror and saw Harry in Black Dress Robes and her and Hermione in white gowns in front of an audience. There was a ministry official behind them, and Molly Weasley was in the front row crying her eyes out. Everybody was happy—it was a world with no threats from Death Eaters or You-Know-Who...Voldemort, Voldemort (Harry had just reminded her the other day that "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself").

"You idiots" Ginny told the boys. "If you read the words backwards, it say _I show not your face but your heart's desire._ This is obviously a mirror that shows the deepest desire of your hearts."

Through their bond, she showed Harry and attempted to show Hermione what she saw in the mirror. A blush came over his face, and they left the room, not wanting to be caught going somewhere they shouldn't.

"I really don't think that you should go back, Harry," said Ginny. "I've heard stories of similar objects—wizards have gone mad in front of such things not knowing whether the mirror shows Truth or Fantasy."

Next morning, Harry received a note.

_The mirror will be moved to a safer location today. I'd appreciate if you didn't go looking for it._

_Headmaster Dumbledore_


	7. The Dragon

A Missed Traffic Light or The Bonds of Friendship

This story is a continuation of the story "One Traffic Light" by witowsmp. The story is not used with the permission of witowsmp, J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Publishing or Scholastic. Harry Potter and all associated trademarks (whether registered or unregistered) belong to those entities (except witowsmp, who is simply responsible for the AU that this story takes place in, and whose original story is at s/7058158/1/One-Traffic-Light

Chapter 7- The Dragon

Ginny noticed after Harry got the note that he didn't try to find the mirror again. He also seemed a bit more upbeat, though that might have been because of what Ginny saw in the mirror. When Hermione came back from holiday, she was horrified that Harry had been out of bed, slightly embarrassed by the picture she had received at Christmas Dinner (from Ginny's mind), and slightly disappointed that no one had found out who Nicolas Flamel was.

Shortly into the new term, Harry and Ginny were at Quidditch practise when Wood told them some bad news. Snape wanted to referee the next match (against Hufflepuff). In her opinion, this would determine whether Snape was guilty or not of the first hexing.

"Don't play" suggested Hermione.

"Say you're ill," suggested Ron.

"Pretend to break your leg," suggested Hermione.

"_Really_ break your leg," said Ron.

"I can't," Harry told them. "First, Pomfrey could fix it up in a couple of minutes. Second, Ginny's my backup, and I don't want anything to happen to her. I'm playing." He said the last bit with confidence.

At that moment, Neville stumbled into the Common Room. How he did so was beyond Ginny, since his legs had been stuck together with the Leg-Locking Curse. Hermione did the counter, whilst Harry tried to convince Neville to tell them who cursed him.

Harry, after hearing that Malfoy had done it, cheered Neville up by saying that he was worth twelve of Malfoy and by giving him a Chocolate Frog. Neville didn't want the card, so he gave the card back to Harry. Shortly after looking at the card, he gestured towards the others. "Come here" he whispered imperiously. "I've found him!"

It was a Dumbledore Chocolate Frog card. On the back, there was text.

_Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and ten-pin bowling. _

"I've got it!" Hermione said.

"It's on top of your bookshelf, Hermione," said Ginny, knowing what book Hermione wanted.

A couple of minutes later, Hermione came rushing down the stairs from her Dormitory with a rather large book in her hands. She turned the book to a certain page and read,

"The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. It will transform any metal into pure gold, and will also produce the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.

"Although there have been unconfirmed reports of Philosopher's Stones over the centuries, the only confirmed known maker of a Philosopher's Stone is Nicolas Flamel, a noted alchemist and opera-lover, who currently resides with his wife Pernelle (658) in his home in Devon. Flamel is 665 years old."

Hermione turned to the other members of the Quartet. "That's what Fluffy is guarding! The Philosopher's Stone!"

\\/

The Quartet were on high alert next Quidditch match, with their wands at the ready in case of trouble. They had just gotten to their seats when an unwanted person came over to them.

"You know how they choose people for the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" Malfoy was asking Goyle and Crabbe. "It's the people they feel sorry for. The Weasleys have no money, Potter doesn't have parents."

Draco noticed where Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were sitting, and banged past. "Sorry, Weasel. I didn't see you there. It's a wonder Longbottom's not on the team—he doesn't have any brains."

"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," responded Neville.

\\/

Harry caught the Snitch in record time (5 minutes: the final score was Hufflepuff 10, Gryffindor 160), but didn't return to the Common Room until a couple of hours later. By that time, the party was already in full swing. He subtly motioned the others to come to the corner farthest away from the festivities. "I just heard Snape threatening Quirrell or vice versa," he said.

\\/

Within a couple of weeks, Hermione was encouraging (read as "bullying") the Quartet to study.

"The exams are ten weeks away!" said Ron.

"That's no time at all to Nicolas Flamel!" responded Hermione.

"Well, I'm not six hundred years old!"

One day, when they were in the library, Ginny saw a very strange sight. Hagrid had managed to cram himself into the library. After Hagrid left, Harry managed to get a look at the books Hagrid had been looking at. They were all about dragons.

"He does know that they're illegal, doesn't he?" asked Ginny. At Harry's look, she could tell that Hagrid did not care that they were illegal. The Quartet decided to pay Hagrid a visit.

First, they asked him a couple of questions about the Stone, which he didn't know except for the teachers providing the "distractions." Then, Ron asked if he could open a window, as it must have been 35 Celsius in the hut.

"Can't Ron," said Hagrid. He glanced at the fire. Ginny looked too. In the fire was a big egg.

"Where did you get it?" she asked.

"I won it," he said.

\\/

Later on in the Common Room, the Trio were discussing the fact that Hagrid somehow managed to get an illegal dragon.

"We should really tell Dumbledore," said Hermione.

"Damn straight!" said Ginny to the twin admonitions of "Ginny, language!" from Harry and Hermione. So the Trio decided to go see Dumbledore. Ginny led the way. Soon, they were at the Gargoyle.

"Jelly Baby" they told the Gargoyle, who moved out of the way. They moved up the stairs, and were about to knock on the door when it flew open to, "What can I do for you Mr Potter, Miss Weasley and Miss Granger?"

The Headmaster put on a deep voice, "Would you like a Jelly Baby?" he asked. At the looks of confusion on Harry and Ginny's faces, he said in a normal voice, "I used to enjoy a Muggle television show, where the main character would always offer one."

"Yes, _Doctor Who," _said Hermione. "The Fourth Doctor Who if I remember correctly. My family used to watch the repeats."

"What did you need to talk to me about," asked the Headmaster after they declined his offer of candy. "I notice that there is a strong bond between you. Is that what you came to say?"

"No, sir," said Harry. "I mean, yes, there is a sort of bond between the three of us but not why we came here."

The Trio then blurted out, "Hagrid has a dragon."

"Oh, my" said the Headmaster.

\\/

Dumbledore and the Trio managed to find a method of getting the dragon away that didn't involve being out late at night. At least, the Trio wouldn't be out at night. Dumbledore owled Charlie Weasley, who would bring a couple of his friends over to retrieve the dragon. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be until the next week.

One week was apparently all that was needed for the dragon to hatch. Hagrid sent the Quartet a letter that simply said _It's hatching, _so after Herbology class, they went to see Hagrid. By the time they got there, Ginny could see that the dragon was nearly out of its egg. It broke free and looked at Hagrid.

"Look at her! She knows her mummy!" said Hagrid. "Who's a cute dragon? Huh? Who's my cute Norberta?" He said this as if he were talking to a puppy. Speaking of puppies, Fang seemed to be annoyed that this animal was in his house.

_Thursday can't come soon enough! t_hought Ginny.

It was a clear day on Thursday when Charlie and his friends came to retrieve the dragon. Charlie came early in the day so that he could visit with his siblings before taking the dragon that night. When Ginny saw Charlie, she flew towards him. "Charlie!" she yelled as she hugged him.

Once he got out of the hug, he said, "How are you doing, Gin?"

"I'm good." she said. "I'd like you to meet my friends Harry Potter and Hermione Granger."

"I was surprised when I heard the news, little sister," responded Charlie. "Are you more devious than we previously thought?"

A/N: Apparently, I was using movie Canon for the spelling of Nicolas Flamel's name. All instances in this chapter (and further instances) will be changed to 'Nicolas'

I use 'The Trio' for Harry, Hermione, and Ginny (the bond-mates), whereas the Quartet is the Trio plus Ron

Yes, correctly it's the "Fourth Doctor", but many fans of the original broadcast, and many fans today refer to the _person _as "Doctor Who" instead of "The Doctor" Confusing this is the fact that the Classic Doctors were more often than not credited as playing "Doctor Who"


	8. Detentions and Trap Doors

A Missed Traffic Light or The Bonds of Friendship

This story is a continuation of the story "One Traffic Light" by witowsmp. The story is not used with the permission of witowsmp, J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Publishing or Scholastic. Harry Potter and all associated trademarks (whether registered or unregistered) belong to those entities (except witowsmp, who is simply responsible for the AU that this story takes place in, and whose original story is at s/7058158/1/One-Traffic-Light

Chapter 8—Detentions and Trap Doors

The Trio hung around Charlie all day, and he could definitely tell that there was something going on between the three. _Hopefully, they haven't _done _anything yet_ thought Charlie. _I'll have to let Mum know about this._

Unfortunately for everyone, the day was soon over, and so after dinner, Charlie and his friends got "Norberta" as Hagrid was calling the dragon ("she's gotta have a name, don't she?") into a large box, nailed her in, and took off. Charlie had managed to get the right permits for transporting a dragon before he left Romania, so there wouldn't be any trouble from British Law Enforcement, as long as they kept the Disillusionment Charm on (so as not to be seen by Muggles—Invisibility Cloaks would just fly off).

Harry had shown the girls his Cloak right after the Christmas holidays ended, and Hermione was amazed. Ginny was amazed, too, because Cloaks were so expensive. Also, this had to be a higher quality one since it had been Harry's father's Invisibility Cloak and it still worked.

Exams were fast approaching. Hermione had them studying quite often, so they were in the library a lot. One night, coming back from the library right before curfew, Ginny felt something hit her, and she lost consciousness.

She was awoken by Hermione a minute later, as Harry was exchanging spells with Malfoy and then started to exchange spells with his goons. Then they heard Professor McGonagall. "Stop, all of you! Three Gryffindors all out past curfew in one night. 50 points each from Gryffindor. Fighting in the hallways is against the rules. Seventy-five points from Slytherin and a detention to all of you. Get to bed now. I'll notify you about your detention later."

\\/

A week later, Ginny received notice of her detention.

_Miss Weasley,_

_Meet Mr Filch at the Main Entrance at 23:00 tonight_

_Prof M McGonagall_

That night, all four of them (the Trio plus Draco) met in the Entrance Hall, where Filch was waiting. As he led them to Hagrid's house, he lectured them about some of the old punishments and how he'd wish Dumbledore would let him bring them back.

"You been lecturing them, Filch?" spat Hagrid.

"What's it matter to you?" replied Filch, just as nastily. "Gotta keep your wits about you! You're going into the Forest."

"Into the Forest?" asked Malfoy. Ginny was pleased to see the terrified look on his face. "I thought that was a joke!"

\\/

The next day, the Quartet was discussing what happened in the Forest. "So, You-Know-Who was in the forest?" asked Ron.

"Yes," replied Harry. "He's weak, though, relying on Unicorn Blood to sustain him."

"Snape doesn't want the Stone for himself," said Ron. "He wants it for You-Know-Who!"

"Say the name, Ron. Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." said Harry.

"We also have no proof that it is Snape!" said Hermione. "Even though he's nasty to us, I still learn a lot from him."

Ron muttered something under his breath. Ginny couldn't hear everything, but she was pretty sure that she heard the words, "Bloody git" and "Greasy-haired bat", so the girls said, "Language, Ronald!"

\\/

Harry later confessed to His Girls, as he had begun to think about them, that he wasn't sure how he passed his exams that year, with not only the stress of the exams, but worrying that Lord Voldemort would come through the door any moment.

Ginny thought that the exams were quite challenging for a first year, but it was all material that Hermione had pounded into their heads. She did also feel a sort of fun as she Transfigured a mouse into a snuff-box (points were given for how pretty the box was, taken away if it still had whiskers), made a pineapple tap-dance for Flitwick, and tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness Potion for Snape. She supposed this must be coming from Hermione.

Right after their last exam, Harry had a brainstorm. "How many people go around with Dragon Eggs in their pocket? We need to see Hagrid!"

\\/

"All you need to do is play him a bit of music and he falls straight to sleep," said Hagrid.

\\/

"We've got to let someone know," Hermione said, so they marched up to Dumbledore's office. There was one problem, the Headmaster wasn't answering his door, so they went to McGonagall.

"Ma'am!" they said as they skidded into the room. "We think that someone is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone!"

"I don't know how you know about the Philosopher's Stone," McGonagall said sternly. "But I assure you, it is too well protected."

As they were walking to the Common Room, Harry said, "We go tonight. Dumbledore's not here to protect it."

That night, Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Harry waited for everyone else to go to bed, and Harry got the cloak, Hermione had to _Petrificus Totalus _Neville for trying to stop them leaving, and they met Peeves in the hallway. Harry had to pretend to be the Bloody Baron to get past.

Soon, they were at the third floor. Harry pulled out the flute Hagrid gave him for Christmas, but when they opened Fluffy's Chamber, he was already asleep. Ron pointed this out, and Ginny noticed a harp in the corner, enchanted to play. They pushed Fluffy's paw off the trapdoor and then, seeing no way down, Ginny jumped. Ron and Hermione followed, and Harry was the last.

"Lucky there's this plant thing," said Ron.

"You stupid idiot," said Ginny. "It's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I am so glad that we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, trying to stop the plant curling around his neck.

"Shut up! I'm trying to remember how to kill it" said Hermione.

"It likes the dark and the damp," replied Harry.

"So light a fire!" suggested Ginny.

"There's no wood!" said Hermione, losing her head in a crisis.

"ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?" bellowed the others. Hermione took out her wand and set fire to the plant, which released the Quartet. They walked through the door to the next room and found two brooms and a bunch of birds.

_No, they're not birds, _thought Ginny. _They're keys._

"We need to find the right key" said Ginny.

"Well, you two are the best Seekers at Hogwarts," said Hermione.

\\/

The next chamber was a chess match, which they delegated to Ron to run. At the end of the game, Ron realised that he needed to sacrifice himself to checkmate the other king. The other queen defeated him, and he fell to the board unconscious. One member had left the Quest.

The next room contained what looked to be a dead Hermione. Ginny immediately knew what it was when it changed to a Dead Harry.

"It's a boggart," said Ginny. "I think the spell is _Riddikulus_ or something like that."

They defeated the boggart and went on to the next room, where they found a Mountain Troll, much like the one that almost killed Hermione. It may have been the same one. It wasn't moving.

"Is it dead?" asked Hermione.

"I think so," said Harry. "Let's go on."

They walked into a room, and flames sprouted on both sides of them. There was a riddle on the table.

\\/

"There's enough potion for two to go back." said Harry. "You two go back and get Ron, take him to hospital and get Dumbledore down here. If He is in there, I don't know how long I'll be able to hold Him off."

"You're a great wizard Harry," said Hermione.

"I'm not as good as you" said Harry.

"You know that you are" she replied. "But with me, it's all books and cleverness. There are much more important things like friendship and bravery. If you die, then I will go to Hades itself to get you!"

"Me, too" replied Ginny. "Be careful, Harry."

The girls took their potion and went back through the flames as Harry took his and went forward. Ginny found her brother, still unconscious at the chess board, and used the Hover Charm on him. They got to the Devil's Snare right as Dumbledore was levitating himself down.

"He's gone through, hasn't he?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, sir," said Hermione.

"Oh, my" responded the headmaster in a way similar to George Takei. "Get him to the hospital wing. I've got to save Harry."

The girls got a couple of brooms, hoisted Ron on to one of them, and flew to the Hospital Wing, where the Nurse insisted on checking each of them over. A little while later, the Headmaster brought Harry's body into the Hospital Wing.

"I can still feel him," said Hermione. "He's merely unconscious," reassuring Ginny.

"Well, Miss Weasley," said the Headmaster. "I believe that _you_ will be the youngest Seeker to play a match at Hogwarts. The Gryffindor game tomorrow has _not _been cancelled, and I know that Harry will not be able to play by then. Good Luck."

"That man!" exclaimed Ginny. "He's just brought my boyfriend in here, and he tells me I can play Quidditch tomorrow?"

\\/

It was a brilliant day for Quidditch the next day. It was 25 Celsius, sunny and clear. This game would be against Ravenclaw. Although they were known as the brainiest of the Houses, they didn't always have the best Quidditch team.

Team morale on the Gryffindor team wasn't the highest, but what team that just lost their starting Seeker and had to play someone who shouldn't even be on the field wouldn't have a drop in morale.

Wood gave his speech. "We've lost Potter to 'Injury.' We're playing a first-year, a ten-year-old first-year at Seeker. But you lot know how good she is, so give it all your best. I'd prefer it if we won, though! Go GRYFFINDOR!"

The team flew out onto the field to Jordan calling the line-ups. "For Gryffindor, we have in Goal, Oliver Wood! At Beater, we have Fred and George Weasley! At Chaser, we have Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet! And the late substitution, the youngest player to ever play Quidditch at Hogwarts, your Seeker, Ginny Weasley!"

The game was a fast paced game. The Gryffindors were scoring at a very high pace. Soon the score was 160-0 to Gryffindor. Ginny had to do a Wronski Feint, which bought her a couple of more seconds. Ravenclaw finally scored at around the ten minute mark, scoring five times to make the score 160-50. If Ravenclaw got the snitch now, they would win. Then Ginny saw the Snitch, right in front of the Keeper for Ravenclaw, who attempted to swat it away, but managed to just put it into Ginny's glove.

Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup!

A/N: Some things are slowly, but surely diverging from Canon (obviously, a whole lot is in canon)

I use 'The Trio' for Harry, Hermione, and Ginny (the bond-mates), whereas the Quartet is the Trio plus Ron


	9. The End of a Year

A Missed Traffic Light or The Bonds of Friendship

This story is a continuation of the story "One Traffic Light" by witowsmp. The story is not used with the permission of witowsmp, J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Publishing or Scholastic. Harry Potter and all associated trademarks (whether registered or unregistered) belong to those entities (except witowsmp, who is simply responsible for the AU that this story takes place in, and whose original story is at s/7058158/1/One-Traffic-Light

Chapter 9—End of a Year

As soon as McGonagall busted the first party thrown by Gryffindor in honour of the Quidditch win, Ginny went up to Harry's bed, where she saw his Invisibility Cloak with a note that said _Just in Case._ She put it in her bag, went down to the Common Room, got Hermione after the twins created a distraction, put on the Cloak and went to the Hospital Wing. They sat next to Harry. That is how Madame Pomfrey found them the next morning.

"Girls," said the Healer. "Mind telling me what you are doing? Visiting hours are over."

"Ma'am, we just wanted to be with Harry," said Ginny giving the Nurse an irresistible look. Pomfrey noticed the love that shone in both girls eyes, as well as the tendril of magic connecting the three. Tendril might not be the best word, she thought. Perhaps "big-damned tentacle from above the waist" would be a better term.

Already gifts had started to pour in for the Gryffindor Seeker. Cards wishing him to get well soon, candies of all shapes and sizes.

Just then, Ginny heard a noise from outside the door. "What do you think you are bringing in here?" the nurse asked the person outside.

Ginny recognised the voices of the people outside immediately.

"We wanted"

"To bring Harry"

"A Hogwarts toilet seat"

"As a joke"

Ginny sat on the bed laughing at the nerve of her brothers. They had been planning to send _her _a toilet seat, but she had sneaked aboard the _Express._

"There is no way that you are bringing that in here," said the nurse. "It is completely unhygienic. The Headmaster will hear about this."

_Yeah, and probably laugh his ass off, _thought Ginny.

Two days, Ginny and Hermione maintained their vigil at Harry's bedside. On the third day after the ordeal, Harry woke up.

"Ginny!" he said as she shook Hermione awake.

"What?" asked Hermione sleepily, before noticing Harry. "Harry!" she said, now fully awake.

"How long was I out?"

"Three days," said Ginny.

"You missed the last Quidditch match, but your replacement did a decent job," said Hermione.

"Only a decent job?" asked Harry. "How much is Wood going to kill me?"

"Not at all," answered Ginny. "Your 'replacement' won the Quidditch Cup."

"Good job!" praised Harry. "What's been going on?"

"We don't know much," admitted Hermione.

"We've been up here three days waiting for our git of a boyfriend to wake up," said Ginny.

"Boyfriend?" asked Harry.

"Yep," said Hermione. "We've claimed you as ours."

The girls only went back to the Common Room after Dumbledore said that he needed to talk to Harry.

\\/

"So the Flamels are just going to die?" asked Ginny.

"To Dumbledore, 'Death is but the next great adventure'." said Harry.

"That wizard's just a crazy old man," said Hermione, laughing at her own _Star Wars _joke.

"_Star Wars, _right?" asked Harry. Hermione nodded, but looked inquisitive. "I saw it once on a field trip to the cinema. My aunt and uncle were...less than pleased with the choice of movie."

The next day was the end of term. According to Harry, he had to fight to get to the feast. The hall was decked in Slytherin colours. Despite winning the Quidditch Cup, Gryffindor just didn't have enough points to beat Slytherin in the House Cup.

Dumbledore announced the points: 4th place, Hufflepuff with 352 points. 3rd place, Ravenclaw with 362 points. 2nd place, Gryffindor with 363 points. First place went to Slytherin with 562 points.

"Certain Events have to be taken into account," said the Headmaster. "First to Ronald Weasley 50 points for the best chess game this school has seen in years. Second, to Hermione Granger, 50 points for cool use of logic under fire" Ginny noticed that Snape managed to look disgustedly impressed. "To Ginevra Weasley, 30 points for being able to think critically in a crisis situation. To Mr Harry Potter, for nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor 60 points. Finally, to Neville Longbottom. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to one's enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends. I award Gryffindor 10 points. If my calculations are correct, we need a change of decoration."

He clapped his hands and the decorations changed from Green and Silver to the Red and Gold of Gryffindor. All non-Slytherins were cheering, for Slytherin had been beaten for the first time in at least seven years.

The exams results were distributed next day. Harry was happy to see that the Girls and Ron had all passed. Unfortunately, the results sheet indicated that Malfoy and his Goons had also managed to pass with a high enough grade. Neville managed to pass potions, his great score in Herbology making up for that. Soon, the administrators had passed out the notifications that pupils were not permitted to use magic during holidays, and they were on the train to London.

"I'll write every day" said Ginny.

"Harry, I'll use the Post to send you mail," said Hermione.

"I love you girls," said Harry.

When Harry, Ginny and Hermione got off the train, they were met almost immediately by Mrs Weasley. "I'm sorry for how the year started, dear," she said to him. "How did your year go?"

"I did well, thank you," replied Harry. "You have a very smart daughter, Mrs Weasley. She and Hermione kept me on track all year."

"Well that's good to hear," she said as they walked back into the Muggle side of the platform. "Now, just write us if you need anything. Dumbledore says that we can get you on your birthday."

"Thanks Mrs Weasley," he said as he noticed the Grangers. Mrs Granger looked like an older version of Hermione, while her dad was tall and fit with blond hair and blue eyes. Hermione was bringing them over to meet Harry and Ginny.

"Hello, I'm Molly Weasley," said Molly to the Grangers.

"This is my girlfriend Ginny Weasley," Hermione was saying, "And this is my boyfriend, Harry Potter."

Ginny could see the Grangers saying to themselves "Girlfriend" and "Boyfriend" while trying to figure out which context their daughter had used those words in. After everyone said goodbye, the Grangers left, and the Dursleys came waddling up to them.

"You must be Harry's family," Mrs Weasley said pleasantly.

"In a manner of speaking," said Vernon gruffly. "Come, boy."

Ginny resisted the urge to woof at that statement by Harry's uncle.

"Harry's Uncle!" shouted Mrs Weasley. "I've invited Harry over after his birthday, if that's all right with you?"

Harry's uncle grunted. Ginny figured that meant 'yes' Her mum obviously thought so too, because she said, "Thank you. We'll pick Harry up at 16:00 on 31 July."

As Mrs Weasley led her family to the public Floo, she asked Ginny, "What did Hermione mean by that?"

A/N: Some things are slowly, but surely diverging from Canon (obviously, a whole lot is in canon)

This is the end of book one.

I use 'The Trio' for Harry, Hermione, and Ginny (the bond-mates), whereas the Quartet is the Trio plus Ron


	10. Author's Note

The continuation of this story is at s/10159822/1/The-Bonds-of-Friendship-Book-2. I'm sorry if you wanted to read the epilogue, as I took it down because the story diverged from my original thoughts too much.


End file.
